Hearts of Oak’s right winger Emmanuel Botchway scored from the diagonal position for his side’s solitary goal victory over Real Tamale United at the Accra Sports Stadium which turned out to be the decider for the 1984 league season.
Hearts which proved monarchs of all that it surveyed that season was quietly pursued by other clubs in the hunt for the league title. These included Sekondi Eleven Wise, Sekondi Hasaacas, Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Real Tamale United.
Towards the last bend, it turned into almost a photo finish with only a point separating Hearts of Oak and third-positioned Real Tamale United, and coincidentally the two had to play the last game at the Accra Sports Stadium. To clinch the league title, RTU needed a win, and Hearts needed at least a draw.
The following were their line-ups. Hearts: Goalkeeper Owusu Mensah, Ofei Ansah, Albert Ansuade, Joseph Odoi, Collins Paha, Joe Amoateng, Emmanuel Botchway, George Lamptey, Opoku Afriyie, Sam Yeboah, and Robert Hammond. (Carlos Laryea)
RTU: Goalkeeper Abukari Damba, Kwaku Mohammed, Seth Gyan, Clifford Addai, Mohammed Alhassan, Alex Donkor, Kwame Danger, Ahmed Dauda, Ibrahim Tanko, Mohammed Choo, and Tanko Jentumah. (Anane Kobo)
A hot exchange it was with the game concentrated in midfield. Hearts the team of the moment had met their match in RTU which ceded no inch in play territory. Then the midfield gritters of Hearts of Oak pounced on a loose ball, Joe Amoateng chested out to Sam Yeboah who located the traditional right winger, Emmanuel Botchway on the touchline. The hotly pursued Botchway raced with the ball and unleashed a shot. Damba was beaten and the goal netting shook. The rotund leather was firmly planted in there.
The hero of the day was Emmanuel Botchway the goal-scorer who was a permanent feature in the Hearts of Oak line-up of 1984. When the league ended with that game, with Hearts declared champions, Emmanuel Botchway was nowhere to be found in the future of the club. Nobody heard about his transfer or the retirement of the player who was in his prime at the time. In the 1985 league, John Nketiah Yawson had moved back to Hearts from Hasaacas and took over the no7 position.
Following RTU’s defeat, it dropped to the third position at the end of the league as Eleven Wise scaled over them to take the prestigious second spot.